


Unremarkable Events

by Christmasrose66



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 11:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15242052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Christmasrose66/pseuds/Christmasrose66
Summary: in Chapter 1,Mulder and Scully consider baby names. in Chapter 2,Mulder has a minor car accident.





	Unremarkable Events

chapter 1  
It was early morning, a bright clear day. Mulder held the wheel of the Mustang confidently, and the car sped down the highway at a comfortable 55mph ( just above the speed limit, but nothing reckless, the commuter's "f.u." to minor government regulations, and Mulder's default setting.) He was feeling pretty pleased with himself, all things considered (and he didn't want to consider those things too deeply right now.) He glanced to his right, at Scully in the passenger seat. She was starring out of the window, and he couldn't catch her eye. He opened his mouth to say something witty that might catch her attention, but before he could say anything, she murmered "Mulder, pull over" as she turned to him, her face was ash white. Scully clamped her jaw shut, willing herself not to throw up there and then. Her eyes pleaded with him, and he stopped the car on a dime. She shoved the door open and practically fell out of the vehicle, stumbling onto the grass verge, before doubling over and heaving. Mulder leapt out of the driver's side of the car, and watched helplessly, as his partner emptied her stomach contents at the roadside.  
"Woah! My driving isn't that bad" he quipped, hoping to raise a smile. She shot him a withering look, a strand of hair plastered to her damp forehead, she was in no mood for humour. "OK" he said, mostly to himself. They got back into the car, wordlessly and he handed her a bottle of water. "Thanks" she smiled weakly.  
A little later, she said "I've been thinking..."  
"O oh!" Mulder's stomach tightened, his instintive response was fear, worry that Scully was distancing herself from him. She saw the doubts flitter across his face. For someone who profiled others so well, it seemed he was unable to conceal his own emotions. She smiled reasuringly at him. "I'd like to go back to work at the hospital" she said calmly, matter of fact, as if it were already a done deal.  
He relaxed a little. "That's sensible" he acknowledged. Working in a hospital while she was pregnant, had to be safe for both Scully and the baby. He felt a slight pang of loss though, at the thought of giving up their working partnership. Scully still seemed a little reticent, he knew she was holding something back, but he also knew that asking her about it was a surefire way to get her to clam up and refuse to say anything. After a pause, it could have been 1 minute or 5, she continued "just a temporary position, 3 or 4 months, until the baby's born" he nodded as he drove, eyes on the road.  
She was more hestitant now, "then I'll need some time off."  
"Of course" he agreed, unsure as to what the issue was.  
"I don't know how quickly I'll recover, this time around" she gave a little smile, they both silently acknowledged the fact that they would be "older parents", and she said "maybe a couple of months", there was a beat, "six months" she let the words hang in the air, like a question. Was it a question? Mulder wondered, was she asking his permission? Permission to stay home and look after their baby. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to say something?  
He cleared his throat. "Sure," he began, then he grinned broadly "What ever you wanna do, whatever you think is best for the baby" he stumbled then, "and for you, of course." "You don't have to worry financially" he stated "You know the house is paid for, and we don't have expensive tastes." At this point he stopped himself, realising his position, sitting in the Mustang, his extravagance. "I can trade it " he gestured at the car "in, for a family car, when the time comes." Scully resisted the urge to giggle, at the image of Mulder battling with a baby's car seat.  
"What will you do?" she asked "If they finally throw us out of the FBI?". He hadn't given it serious consideration. The threat of closure of the X-Files had hung over their heads so often, that it began to seem hollow, like trying to hold back the tide.  
"I" he paused to collect his thoughts "I need to sort out the house and the yard, to "baby-proof" the place". She nodded, smiling happily. This was what she wanted, Mulder occupied constructively, building their future together. "Maybe I'll write another book" he mused "and you know" he continued "I've been thinking too..."  
"O oh!" this was Scully's cue to worry about what was coming next "there are a couple of things I'd like to look into" he didn't elaborate, but she could guess, "and there might be some freelancing, Monica might need a second opinion." That made Scully smile, she wanted Monica around, even though it brought back memories of William. Monica would look out for Mulder. Realistically, Scully knew that she couldn't stop Mulder's insatiable urge to investigate, to question, to research, and she didn't want to, she just hoped to keep him close. She reached out and put a hand on his arm. Just to keep him physically close to her, that wasn't too much to ask, was it?  
So, they went to see Kersh, and handed in their badges and their guns (they kept another gun in the safe at home, Mulder wasn't going to leave his family unprotected, although he hoped he'd never need to use it again.) They paid a final, sentimental visit to the basement office, which was now in the process of refurbishment. Out with the old, in with the new, Scully reflected. Then they were gone, no one else to say goodbye to, both Skinner and Monica were still in hospital. The future was wide open, empty pages in a book that had yet to be written.  
On the drive home, he asked "You have seen a doctor, right?"  
"Yes" she said "an old friend at the hospital, everything is OK, it's all perfectly normal" she wanted to say "this time" but she didn't. There were too many reminders, as it was, she didn't need to draw Mulder's attention to them. She felt so guilty about William, it was eating her up inside. The things that she'd said, that night on the dock, she could hardly believe they'd come out of her own mouth. She'd had to do it, to protect their future. The future for her unborn child, and for Mulder and herself. Yes, it was selfish of her, but...., she sighed deeply, she couldn't tell him: not now, not yet, not before the baby was born. William wouldn't come home until after the baby was born, she was certain of that. She could hear his voice in her head, she wondered if he could hear hers. "Take care of my little sister" he had said.  
At home that evening, as they relaxed on the couch, Scully leant her head against Mulder's shoulder. Mulder's hand hesitated in mid-air, hovering over her stomach. "Is it OK?" he asked. "If you touch my stomach?" she completed his question for him. "Yes, and thank you for asking"  
She hated the way that her pregnant body had somehow become public property, when she was expecting William, it made her feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. She was bracing herself to go through the same experience again, but Mulder was aware of her private nature, he wouldn't appreciate strangers manhandling her.  
"I wonder if it's a boy or a girl?" he pondered, as the warmth of his hand diffused across her skin.  
"It's too early to tell" was her scientific, common-sense reply, then with a little smile, she said "I have a hunch it's a girl".  
Mulder made a mock gesture of clutching at his heart. "Scully, I'm shocked" he joked "you, you have a hunch, a gut feeling, an un-scientific opinion. Well, if that's the case, I think it's a boy."  
"OK" she challenged him, "how about we make this interesting? If it's a girl, I'll name her, and if it's a boy, you can name him." She could see the glint in Mulder's eyes. She held up a hand, to put the brakes on, before this got totally out of hand. "2 conditions" she said "one; you can NOT name the baby Elvis."  
"Ah, Scully, you take all the fun out of everything" he whinned, his lower lip protruding, like a petulant toddler.  
"And two" she continued "we'll each come up with two possible names, just in case the other person hates one of our choices"  
"You're on" Mulder agreed.  
Naming a child is harder than you think. Mulder was determined not to give the child a name that would cause him embarassment, he knew how that felt, and wasn't going to inflict that on his own son. Scully had vetoed the idea of calling the baby Elvis, but, he could name the child after Elvis indirectly, by using Elvis's middle name, Aaron. Aaron Mulder, that had quite a nice ring to it, and she'd never know. Mulder was quietly pleased with himself. He needed a second choice. He ran through lists of names in his head, considered naming the boy after someone else, but who? It was a Jewish tradition to name a child only after a dead relative, and not one who was still living (less confusing, very practical) but he didn't want to name his son after member's of his mother's family. He thought of the friends he had lost over the years, such as the Lone Gunmen; John - too ordinary, Melvin - no, just no, Ringo - too quirky, but Langley's real name was Richard, although his girlfriend was the only one who called him that. Richard .... maybe? Aaron Richard Mulder, that sounded good. A reminder of the past, without being too obvious. He owed Langley, there was still unfinished business, the need to pinpoint the back up simulation's location and destroy that too.  
Scully was finding the choice of a girl's name just as difficult. She knew that she didn't want to name her daughter after someone who they had lost, no Melissa or Samantha, that was just too sad. It would tear at their guts every time they looked at her. A child doesn't need that. She wanted to look forward, not back. She did wonder about calling her Maggie, her mother would have liked that, but still it was too painful. She needed something new, something magical to reflect the miraculous nature of this child's existance. Like Alice in Wonderland, and the belief in "3 impossible things before breakfast". That was it, Alice. Alice Mulder, that had a nice ring to it. What could her second choice name be? Something to reflect her heritage, maybe something Irish? But the spellings would forever cause her daughter problems and irritation, no matter how pretty Sinead or Niamh sounded. No, maybe something Jewish, to link her to Mulder: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel? Of course, that had been the name of the motel, where she was conceived, the St. Rachel. It would make them smile, remembering that night, and little Alice Rachel Mulder would never know. 

Chapter 2  
Mulder became aware of a shuffling and banging of cupboard doors behind him, punctuated by Scully's exaggerated sighs. The contents of the cupboards were evidently not to her satisfaction. Mulder tried to ignore the performance, and continued reading an article he had discovered on-line which provided scientific backing for the possibility that animals were capable of changing gender. He guessed that Scully was not in the mood to indulge his interests right now. The opening and closing of cupboard doors continued, and finally Mulder had to know what she was looking for. He turned around and peered at her, over the top of his progressives, "What's going on?" he asked. She scowled at the world at large.  
"I could have sworn we had some ginger cookies" Scully said. The expression of guilt on Mulder's face made her chuckle involuntarily. "You?" she tried to sound angry, but couldn't stop herself from laughing. "You ate them?" she managed to ask.  
"I ate them" he admitted sheepishly, "but, I can get you some more" he jumped up from his chair "from Mya's little bakery, it won't take me 20 minutes, or 30 minutes maybe". Mulder had his car keys in his hand "I'll be back before you know it." And with that, he was out the door, before Scully had time to raise any objections. She smiled to herself, now that she was pregnant, it seemed that Mulder was prepared to cater to her every whim. It was sweet, but she didn't want to take advantage of him.  
Mulder and Scully had become familiar faces in the small town about 10 miles from their home, and the bakery was one of their favourites. Mulder hummed to himself as he drove, and made good time. He purchased a dozen ginger cookies, and a couple of caramel glaze doughnuts. That should put him back into Scully's good books, he figured. He placed the goods carefully onto the passenger seat, and was back on the road to home. Maybe a little driving music was in order, he thought to himself. He glanced down at the dashboard display, and as he did so, out of the corner of his eye, he became aware of a sudden movement in the road. Before he could react, he felt a sickening jolt, as the car travelled over an object in the road. He pulled the Mustang over to the side of the highway, and glanced back to see what exactly had passed under the car's wheels. It couldn't have been a person, surely? He tried to convince himself. There was definitely something in the road. He had to get out and have a look. Probably a wild animal, maybe a racoon. He was in the middle of nowhere, hitting the occasional critter was only to be expected, although Mulder didn't like to see any creature suffer. Death had probably been instant, the animal wouldn't have known what hit it. Luckily there was no other traffic, so Mulder stepped into the road, to observe the innocent victim. The animal was larger than a racoon, with long blood-spattered fur. Oh God! He realised it was a dog. A skinny, scruffy, bleeding dog. He bent down and placed his hand on the dog's chest, the animal whined. Oh God! Mulder thought again, it was alive, at least he hadn't killed it. "It's OK boy" he stroked the dog reassuringly, then corrected himself "Oh, I'm sorry, it's OK girl". There was a lot of blood, Mulder was far from certain that it was in fact OK, but he supposed that a calm demeanour might keep the animal calm. "Scully's going to kill me" he muttered to the dog, "but she might just be able to save your life". The dog turned her head and tried to lick Mulder's fingers. She was going to melt Scully's heart. "I am in SO much trouble" Mulder sighed. He took off his jacket, and wrapped the dog in it, picking her up and gently placing her into the Mustang. Then they were off, heading home. Mulder with his fingers crossed, praying to Scully's God for the life of the little bedraggled dog.  
Roughly 40 minutes after he set off, when Scully had begun to wonder whether she would ever see any ginger cookies at all, Mulder burst through the front door, his white shirt spattered with blood. "Mulder" she hurried towards him, her hands reaching for his chest "you're bleeding".  
"It's not my blood" he brushed her hands away, abruptly. She took a step back, suprised by the brusqueness of his response.  
"What happened?" she asked. He looked guilty again, and shell shocked, frozen. "Mulder" she said with greater urgency "did you get into a fight?" It seemed unlikely that there had been a fight in a small town bakery, but she wouldn't put it past him.  
"No, no" Mulder managed a tight-lipped smile "I gotta ...." he dashed back out of the door, and Scully followed him. Mulder opened the passenger side door of the Mustang, and Scully got her first view of the injured dog.  
"Oh!" she exclaimed "You poor thing. Can you carry her into the house?" she asked Mulder. "I'll need to have a good look at those injuries". Scully was all business from that point on, as she cleaned and stitched the wounds. Eventually the process was completed to her satisfaction, and she turned to Mulder and smiled.  
"You want to keep her, don't you?" Mulder raised his eyebrows in mock disapproval. Scully paused, she knew there was a chance that the dog had an owner who was missing her.  
"We'll have to check that she doesn't belong to someone else" she said, "but, if she doesn't, then yes, I want to keep her."  
"Hum!" Mulder sighed, he couldn't say that he was suprised. He was impressed by Scully's medical skills, and proud that she even wanted to spend time with him, let alone the fact that she was expecting his baby. He would have given her the moon if he could. Of course they were going to keep the dog, it was a foregone conclusion.


End file.
